SurvivorDean's Year-End Countdown

December again and every December comes my year-end countdown!

Since 2002, it has been my crazy routine to rank my hit-winning singles of the year, just like MTV.

I'm a R&B addict so my year-end countdown seems bias to this genre but there are still few alternative and pop genre in the list.

2002 SurvivorDean Year-End Countdown

2002 was a good year. I was in first year college that time and there were plenty of good R&B here and there. Luckily, there were still two non-RnB songs that made it on my list.

5) Complicated - Avril Lavigne

4) Wherever you will go- The Calling

3) Ain't It Funny (Remix)- Jennifer Lopez ft. Ja Rule

2) I Need A Girl- P. Diddy ft. Usher and Loon

1) Hot In Herre- Nelly
Nelly's debut single from his album "Nellyville" was a total fly. The music video was also hot, do I need to ask for more?


2003 SurvivorDean Year-End Countdown


5) In the Club- 50 Cent

4) Ignition (Remix)- R. Kelly

3) All I Have- Jennifer Lopez ft. LL Cool J

2) Perfect- Simple Plan

1) If You're Not The One- Daniel Bedingfield
This emotional-driven song is one of the bests of all-time. The lyrics were powerful Every time I hear it, I can only remember just one person. For this, I consider this song a depressing one especially if you are brokenhearted.

2004 SurvivorDean Year-End Countdown


5) Milkshake- Kelis

4) I Don't Wanna Know - Mario Winnans

3) If I Ain't Got You- Alicia Keys

2) Yeah- Usher

1) My Boo- Usher ft. Alicia Keys
Year 2004 was a huge year for R&B! Five not-easily-forgotten songs made it on my list and wow, my number 1 was sizzling HOT.

2005 SurvivorDean Year-End Countdown
I was completely busy with studies in 2005. I didn't have to listen to radio or in MTV. For this, only three songs rocks me up.

3) Candyshop- 50 Cent

2) Unbreakable- Alicia Keys

1) More Than Words- Frankie J.

2006 SurvivorDean Year-End Countdown

5) I Call It Love- Lionel Ritchie

4) Gallery- Mario Vasquez

3) Sexy Back- Justin Timberlake

2) Promiscuous- Nelly Furtado ft. Timbaland

1) So Sick- Neyo
The first time I hear this song, I know it will be a hit. Neyo was a great composer who can also articulate what other nice guys wants to say.

2007 SurvivorDean Year-End Countdown

5) No One- Alicia Keys

4) Do You- Neyo

3) Apologize- Timbaland ft. One Republic

2) What Goes Around Comes Around- Justin Timberlake

1) Wait For You- Elliot Yamin
2007 was an emotional year for me and I was behaving like an idiot. This is probably the reason why I love this song by Yamin. The first time I listen to the message, it breaks my ego. Wow! how cheesy that is!

Who will be on my top list this year? Many superstars are back in the spotlight this year such as Usher, Neyo, John Legend, Rihanna, Beyonce and this will be a hell of fun.

Just wait and see...

Photos courtesy of:
www.people.com
www.mtv.com

Internet Marketing and Storytelling

Written by: Lance D. Jepsen

For thousands of years humans have been telling stories. From the drawings on cave walls, from the story in The Epic of Gilgamesh (2,000 BC), to different religious texts that circle the Earth. The story is so central to the human experience that one can not separate the story from what it means to be human.

When it comes to marketing, one of the huge benefits of telling a story is that people can remember stories better than any other form of marketing. Marketers call this "sticky": it sticks in peoples minds long after they read or hear it. If you subscribe to the Christian faith, then you know that Jesus used storytelling with his parables for he knew that these stories would be remembered long after he was gone.

Claude Hopkins, the father of marketing, in 1919, was hired by Schlitz beer to create an ad that would save the company. Schlitz beer was on the verge of bankruptcy as was ranked a pathetic fifteenth in terms of beer sales.

Hopkins made a trip to Wisconsin to visit the brewery. He knew that he needed to know more about how their beer was actually made. Claude Hopkins knew that it was nearly impossible to create a profitable ad without learning more about the product.

The people at the Wisconsin brewery showed Hopkins the entire brewing process. They showed him how deep they had drilled their wells to find the purest water. They showed him the glass enclosed rooms that kept any contaminates from leeching into the pure water, the kind of yeast they used and where they got it. They explained to Claude Hopkins where the bottles were cleaned, re-cleaned, and sanitized a dozen times.

"My God," Hopkins said, "Why don't you tell people in your advertising about all these steps you are taking to brew your beer?"

We can't do that, answered the Schlitz executives, "all companies brew their beer about the same way."

"Yes," Hopkins countered, "but the first one to tell the public about this process will gain a big advantage."

Hopkins then made an ad for Schlitz Brewery that explained the step-by-step process that goes into making a bottle of Schlitz beer. Six months later, Schlitz went from being ranked fifteenth in terms of sales, to become the #1 selling beer in the country.

Hopkins gave this wonderful example to the world of the power of the story. If Claude Hopkins was alive today, he would literally dominate Internet marketing.

This example shows you how marketing is opposite to what you would think works. The newbie marketer thinks that most people don't have the time to read a long sales letter and so it is best to use a short sales letter. Who really has the time to read all this?--is what most new marketers think.

Many marketing tests have been done on this subject and have proven that the belief that someone does not have the time to read a long sales letter is a false belief. Hopkins did marketing research on this very topic, he writes:

Mail order advertising tells a complete story if the purpose is to make an immediate sale. You see no limitations there on amount of copy. The motto there is, "The more you tell the more you sell." And it has never failed to prove out so in any test we know.

The great 21st century marketer Ben Hart has done research that shows his two page sales letters do better than his one page sales letters, and his four page sales letters do better than his two page sales letters. Ben Hart has even written 12 page sales letters!

I am reminded of a client I had who felt that the sales letter I created for him was just too long to post on his landing page. He did not include large sections of my sales letter and then uploaded a shorter version to his website.

After several months, I contacted him to learn how his sales were doing. He said that they were doing alright but that really he had hoped for more. I recommended that he put the longer sales copy that I wrote for him up. He did as I suggested and his sales increased by an additional 40% over the next few weeks. He is now a believer when it comes to using a longer sales letter to tell a story.

Survivor Insight of the Day

"Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."

-Vince Lombardi, a legendary football coach

Survivor Analysis 10: Ridiculous Exit

The next-door Nobag's nemesis, Randy Bailey was kicked out and became the third member of the jury in 5-3 votes.

Episode ten was undeniably one of those craziest moments in Survivor History. This episode is a bomb! Plenty of unforgettable events transpired. Bob gave his fake immunity necklace to Randy, Sugar was becoming more powerful lady of the hour, Matty started to take control, Ken won the immunity challenge for the first time and Susie got a bath reward during the Survivor Auction.

The Survivor Auction was one of the highlights of this episode. The castaways "arrive at the auction and are told that the rules from last season apply – no pooling of money
and no sharing of food. (David Bloomberg, RNO)"



I don't know what's going in Ken's mind. The only item he bought is the parchment that gave him the right to send someone in Exile Island, he could have won the chocolate and peanut butter, breakfast meal, secret item to be open in the next immunity challenge and spaghetti but he chose to give it all up. Geez, that's plenty food and you should be eating after twenty eight days of starvation lol.

Corrine won the secret item and got a huge advantage during the immunity challenge. This challenge is cool, combining the concept of balance and an eye for right order.


Although Ken won this challenge, he's not the most stand-out castaway in this episode, it's SUGAR (the 29-year-old Pin-up Model).

Call her evil, I still salute her for making this episode a rollercoaster of laughter. Survivor is not only a game for the righteous morally-upright person. Apart from being the regular queen of the hour due to her hidden immunity necklace, she managed to convince Bob to give the fake immunity necklace to Randy.

Randy had no choice but be put into the pit of trickery. The funniest moment of this trick took place during the Tribal Council. The former "Fang underdogs" nailed Randy down. He was laughed at all throughout.

Seems insulting to Randy's part but what can we do? This is a game and everyone has the right to screw someone in any way.

Watch this video and witness the exit of disastrous humiliation.

Hahahaha, Sugar and Crystal totally knock this TC off!

But I salute Randy for not taking it seriously, read his interview I've anchored text in the first paragraph.

Photos courtesy of:
http://www.survivor.com/17
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor

Heidi and her Coffee Research

Article Source: Healthy Coffee and Green Tea

While watching the newest coffee ad on TV, Heidi, with a sudden surge of interest, wants to make a research on most popular types of coffee in the world. She's aware that there are many delicious types of coffee in the world and she remembered that her mother once told her the three best coffee she has tasted are: Hawaiian Kona Coffee, Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee and Kopi Luwak.


Her boyfriend, Dean, is also a coffee addict and he will celebrate his 24th birthday next week. For this reason, Heidi wants to give him the best coffee in the world. But what will she give him? Is it the Hawaiian Kona Coffe? The Jamaican Blue Mountain? Or the Kopi Luwak? With these questions in mind, she hurriedly turned-on her laptop computer and search for several information in Google.


Basic Information About Hawaiian Kona Coffee


While reading, Heidi learned that Kona Coffee came from the well-cultivated slopes of Mount Hualalai and Mauna Loa in the North and South Kona Districts of the Big Island of Hawaii. During the nineteenth century, Samuel Reverend Ruggles introduced this crop to the tropical region of Kona before it became a huge item in the coffee world market on 1899. Recently, there are at least six hundred farms of Kona Coffee worldwide and an average Kona farm has an area of five acres or 20,000m².

There are two types of Kona Coffee. According to Wikipedia, the Type 1 refers to the two beans per cherry and one surface is flat surface while the other side is oval. Examples of these are: Kona Extra Fancy, Kona Fancy, Kona Number 1 and Kona Prime. The Type 2 Kona bean has a round shape per cherry or also called as peaberry. Examples of this type are: Peaberry Number 1 and Peaberry Prime.


When the Kona plant grows, it produces small white flowers that cover its tree. These white flowers are called as Kona Snow. Truth is, the Kona plant will start to bloom during February and March. The green berries will appear in April and in late August, the red fruit or “the cherry” will be fully developed and ready for harvesting. For the record, a Kona Tree can produce 20-30 pounds of cherry.


The Fermentation Period of Kona

Heidi is hopping from one website to another, trying to skim other important details about the fermentation of Kona Coffee in Hawaii. At last, she found one and it goes like this.


The process of fermentation largely depend on the temperature, usually twelve hours if the elevation is low and if the elevation is high, the fermentation process will take twenty-four hours. Drying the beans will take seven to fourteen days and the optimal moisture level must be between ten to thirteen percent. In fact, one pound of roasted Kona coffee requires seven to nine pounds of cherry and by the way, a hundred pounds of cherry can yield at least twelve pounds of roasted coffee.


Purchasing Kona


Now that Heidi has gathered the basic information about Hawaiian Kona Coffee, she typed in “Buy Hawaii Kona Coffee” in the Google search box and click on the very first website in front of her.


After reading the article, she learned that a 100% Pure Kona Coffee is hard to find that's why; it is really pricey. In eBay, a 1lb. pack of farm roasted Kona Coffee will cost $29.95. From what she read, Heidi has also a warning for everyone. The term “Kona Blend” is different from “100% Kona Coffee.” Just to be sure, everyone should look for the authentic label “100% Kona Coffee” upon purchase.

Heidi yawns for a while then glanced at her wrist watch. It's already nine o'clock and her eyes are already tired and wants to sleep. This is fun to read but I need to sleep, she said to herself, better continue this tomorrow.

The next day, Heidi continues her readings after eating her breakfast. She is already done with Hawaiian Kona Coffee and what comes next? Of course, the favorite of her mom, the Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee.


From the wonderful island nation of Jamaica, there lies the 7, 500 feet Blue Mountain. The Blue Mountain is located between Kingston (south) and Port Maria (North). These three mountains are the highest peaks in the Caribbean. That's why; the climate is cool and the soil is abundantly rich. For this reason, the Blue Mountain is also the ideal home of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee.


Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee: The Introduction

Heidi is smiling while reading the Blue Mountain article. Her imagination gone wild upon learning that Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is one of the most desired coffees in the world. In fact, many people want to taste the delight of this Blue Mountain due to its mild flavor. That means, the flavor is not too strong and this is probably the reason why its beans are also used for Tia Maria Coffee Liqueur (an alcohol drink).


What's great about this stuff is, the Coffee Industry Board of Jamaica is really the one who guards the coffee farm during the cultivation period. Based on a source, there are three types of coffee plants in the Jamaica Mountains. Those plants that are cultivated at elevations between 3,000-5,500 feet are called Jamaica Blue Mountain while those that grown at 1,500-3,000 feet elevations are known as Jamaican High Mountain. Jamaica Supreme is the plant that are located below 1,500 foot elevation.

The Screening Theory and The Rate of Blue Mountain


It was believed that the higher the altitude, the better-tasting coffee is produced. Indeed, “various dimensions are used to sort the beans by size.” But due to small geographical location, the supply of Blue Mountain Coffee is still limited. That's why; it remains very expensive.


When Heidi is researching for the prices, she found out that on the average, it's $26 - $40 to a pound. In eBay, a 16oz of Blue Mountain Coffee beans costs $39.95 but good for fifty cups already.

“Holy Cow,” she exclaimed after reading the information page on eBay. “But I think it's really worth the price. Perhaps, Dean will like this. Hmmmm.... better read the last one on my list- the Kopi Luwak.”

While scanning through the pages of Wikipedia, Heidi finally found what she's really looking for- the Kopi Luwak. According to Forbes magazine, Kopi Luwak is by far the most expensive coffee in the world due to its limited supply. A recent survey shows that “only 1,000 pounds or 450 kg at most make it into the world market each year.”


The Origin of Kopi Luwak

Heidi seems shocked while reading the information about the origin of Kopi Luwak. Actually, Kopi Luwak came from coffee berries and these coffee berries are eaten and stayed inside the digestive tract of an Asian Palm Civet. The Palm Civet is a cat-sized omnivore mammal commonly found in Vietnam and eastern part of the Philippines.


When the palm civet eats the forage, their digestive tract will only digest the outer part. In fact, the enzymes inside the stomach of this palm civet breaks down and gives off the forage's bitter but unique taste. As a result, when this palm civet defecates, the bean is still covered in layers and can still be used for human consumption after thoroughly washed.


This is the reason why it's called Kopi Luwak. Kopi is an Indonesian term for coffee while Luwak refers to this Asian Palm Civet.

The “Very” Expensive Rate of Kopi Luwak


There's no need to doubt that Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. As a matter of fact, some coffee houses are selling it by cup and it costs $300 or more. In some countries like Peter Jones in London's Sloane Square, they mix Kopi Luwak and Blue Mountain for £50 or $99.00 USD per cup. This coffee is called Caffe Raro.


Heidi clicks on another link, KopiLuwakOnline.com and the regular price of a Kopi Luwak is $89.99. There are special offers that cost $74.99 and there's also shipping special rates to any destinations inside United States. Because of the price, many people say, “The coffee isn't so spectacular that it's truly worth that amount of money.”


Heidi's Big Choice


Heidi can't really figure out what type of coffee she will be purchasing for her boyfriend, Dean. The Kona Coffee in Hawaii seems affordable compared to Jamaican Blue Mountain and Kopi Lutaw but Blue Mountain and Kopi Lutaw, although expensive, are both rare in quality compared to Hawaiian Coffee.


Yet, she has a great idea. She must go for the unique and what she thinks is the best item for Dean. He's usually drinking coffee while listening to rhythm and blues.

Can you guess it?

Djokovic Wins Masters Cup, Ivanovic Finds Love with Verdasco

I know these news are a bit late but worth reading, still.

He started this year as the Australian Open Champion and now,

"ATP World No. 3 Novak Djokovic was in devastating form as he capped a huge season by racing to his first Tennis Masters Cup title with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Nikolay Davydenko in Shanghai on Sunday (The Shanghai Master Cup)."

Djokovic also outplayed Gilles Simon (FRA) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 during the semifinal, Del Potro (ARG) 7-5, 6-3 and Davydenko (RUS) 7-6(3), 0-6, 7-5 during the first and second singles round robin but failed to Tsonga (FRA) 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 on the third.

For this win, Djokovic brought home a cheque of 1.24 million USD and just two points away from seed number two, Federer, at the ATP season end rankings.

Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai 2008- Final Highlights


On the other hand, this man on the right is so lucky.

Ana Ivanovic finally sealed a romantic relationship with Fernando Verdasco, the world seed number sixteen.



"We are very close. We spent some time together at the US Open and we get along very well. We are getting to know each other and he is a great person." Ivanovic said.



God bless this couple!

Photos courtesy of:
http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/
http://tennis-atp.blogspot.com/

Survivor Insights of the Day: Call Your Doctor, If Needed!

"How can you tell the difference between a problem that will go away on its own and one that should be attended to as soon as possible? Here are six symptoms that you should call your doctor about."

This article is written by Elaine Alpert, M.D., M.P.H., read it- "Six Symptoms Not to Ignore"

Survivor Insights of the Day

"Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and beat you with experience."

-Stephen D. Glass

Survivor Analysis 9: MERGE

Fang and Kota are no more. The nine remaining castaways are now merged into one tribe and calling it, "NOBAG." But still, someone would still be eliminated and become the second member of the jury and the ousted castaway this week was the openly gay attorney in NYC, Charlie Herschel.

With Charlie's eviction, what I thought were the power players were now facing their demise. With Charlie's alliance with Marcus and Corrine, there's no need to doubt that they could swim through the final three.

However, everything changes in the game of SURVIVOR and what you believed will happen will not all the time be realized. Like what happen in this episode, the underdogs (Ken, Crystal, Matty, Susie, Sugar) merged together to get rid of who they think is the brain of the operation.

During their arrival at the reward challenge, Corrine and Charlie were in extreme shock when they saw that their biggest ally, Marcus, was voted out in last week's Tribal Council.



As expected, Matty and the rest of the former original Fang Tribe were all in smiles.

Randy was paranoid during the challenge. His behavior was completely a massive downfall this entire episode. He has below-the-belt grudges towards everybody especially to Crystal. As I see it, he needs some shrinking help to solve his old age issues.

The goal of this week's reward challenge:

"The tribes would use a three man slingshot to shoot an oversized golf ball along three golf holes. The tribe that put their ball in the hole using fewer shots would receive one point. The first tribe to score two points would win. (Wikipedia)"

Fang won and they happily participated in a Traditional Feast lead by Gabon people.

It was in the Immunity Challenge when Jeff Probst announced that the nine remaining castaways were now merged in one new tribe and were competing for individual immunity necklace.

Their new buffs are what I want, Where I can buy it? I'm a BLUE person and BLUE looks nice and when these survivors wore it, they look smarter!

The challenge was so simple: The first one to create a flame and burn a rope, using only a flint, steel and weeds, wins!


Eight of them couldn't start a fire except for Susie Smith, the 47-year-old hairdresser who has been married for twenty five years.

Susie was an underdog in the previous episodes and I wasn't expecting her to win this challenge. No denying, she nailed this game, her fire was in strong glow and for this reason, she can be now tagged as the "dark horse" in the next episodes. Let's see!


Although, Susie won the first immunity necklace of the season, the best conniving player in Episode 9 was once again awarded to Ken Hoang. Since the first twist in fourth episode, Ken has played the game of his lifetime.

He was responsible in blindsiding Ace and Marcus and now with, Charlie.

To tell you, now that the merge is realized and Ken was reunited with Matty and Crystal, I can see a better future for these underdogs.

With all these twisted blindsides he has been doing, Ken might be the ideal smart candidate who can guarantee a final three spot but can never win like Rob Cesternino in Survivor Amazon.

SURVIVOR PHILIPPINES UPDATES

Veronica Domingo became the third member of the jury after the perceived "principled" leader of Naak, Kiko Rustia was blindsided last Monday episode by Kaye and Cris.

Kaye and Chris joined forces with the Jarakay underdogs to vote off Kiko.

I enjoyed watching the episode last Friday. Charisse won the immunity necklace, JC was now learning the advantage of the nice-guy-high strategy, Kaye played I-screw-you-off-before-you-got-a-chance-to-screw-me-off game like what Parvati Shallow did in Micronesia, Marlon was a disaster in making lies to save his own skin and Rob was really furious with Kiko due to the "black pearl."

This black pearl was a new twist in the game and whoever ousted in Tribal Council, s/he will hand the black pearl to one of his castaways and whoever got this pearl will automatically have a vote in next week's Tribal Council.

I see no logic why Vern awarded this pearl to Charisse who was her original tribemate in Jarakay. Whatever her reasons, there's only one thing I want to say...

Survivor Philippines is absolutely making some INTERESTING grounds before the finale comes. This is HOT!

Photos courtesy of:
http://survivorphilippines.com
http://www.survivor.com/17/

How To Impress A Girl In Amazing Ways

Article Source: Ezine Articles
Article Author: Benjamin Wise


Socializing and talking to women is not necessarily an intellectual skill. I think we can all open our mouth here and there. With that said to impress a girl what comes out of your mouth may have some bearing on how you make an impression.

If you asked many women what they are impressed by they would list many things. Now after that being said there a few items on that list that seems to be common to most women. Remember there are always exceptions to the rule.

One of those things that really impress women is guys who have there act together. They know what they want and are comfortable with whom they are. As a result they are confident and prepared to take action to make things happen.

Women just like the rest of us seek security. The last thing they want is some guy who is insecure. It makes sense right.

Another myth is that women are mainly impressed by what a guy drives and how much money he has. No one can deny that these material possessions may help you at the outset. No one can deny either than certain individuals will be impressed by that.

Although factually speaking material possessions become objects of desire and people who are impressed by material goods get bored easily and want the next best thing. If material possessions make people happy then dependency creeps in and they can only be happy if they have the latest thing on the street.

This kind of happiness is fleeting and will always be here one moment and gone the next. So if that's what a girl wants then you will make a far greater impression by not being influenced by her desires as it will reflect where her true priorities lie. By you being honest you will represent value.

So to really make an impression you are not going to be somebody who is easily influenced. You can read between the lines. You will be student of yourself and be intellectually curios.

Failure for you will be the stepping stones to success and as a consequence you will take action with conviction. You will look her in the eyes and be conversationally adaptable. Here and there you will inject some humor because you will be relaxed. Trust me this is what will really impress a woman.

Photo courtesy Of:
www.inmagine.com

Love Your Girl As You Love Your Ego!

Forget the chauvinistic side of you!

After listening to Beyonce's IF I WERE A BOY, there were intangible pieces of truth that fill the empty spaces inside me.

Confusion devoured me after someone told me this line "Can We Just Be Friends?"

Yeah, I felt very weak that time as if my world cut into fragments of depression. I immediately thought she told me that because I'm not the type of man who can satisfy her standards.

But I was somehow wrong!


Lyrics | Beyonce - If I Were A Boy lyrics

After listening to this song, I realized it was not really easy to be a girl. If it's too difficult to be a man because you are regularly holding back your emotions, what's more if you are a woman. A woman's life is filled with courageous vulnerability.

They can say they are always superwoman. They can always say they have the power over men but truth is, there are times they wish they can be on our shoes just to UNDERSTAND how we think, how we feel and how we see them.

In fact, girls can only be confusing because of their body mechanisms. They are hormonal and they can come to a point that they just couldn't control their emotions.

If men hates to be emotional, do you think women also want to be very emotional too? I don't know but one thing I'm sure about, women have certain lifestyle men needs to understand.

For instance, men likes to give advices but women doesn't necessarily need it. In many cases, women only want someone to talk to. It doesn't mean we are great in giving advices in all sorts of life, women has no power to equal our intelligence.

Thinking of this, I learned to hate Filipino culture. Women are still considered the second-rate citizens in Philippines. Some Filipino men only perceived them as a sex object you can always take advantage of.

Even the Christian Bible, it was Eve who ate the fruit of life and the reason behind why the world is so sinful.

Even myself, I also grew up in a family where I was taught to think that only girls do cry. As I am growing up to be an adult, I realized that this belief was all crap.

Men and women are entirely different in terms of physiology, intelligence, spirituality, etc. We have different lifestyle and hobbies but whether we like it or not, men and women are all humans.

Although we differ in many ways, we can still choose to understand our strengths and weaknesses as we go through the roadblocks of life.

Many people say this is the most secret ingredient in happy and romantic relationship.

Truth is, there is no such thing as love. Love is perception and it's oftentimes an irrational feeling but no matter what I scientifically believed, when a man's strength is a woman's weakness and what's a man's weakness is the woman's strength, I see no reasons why there's no miracle that can exist.

I'm not an experienced lover or a player. Call me a goofy nerd for this but whatever you say, I still need to protect my ego and I will no longer use my pride for my advantage just to meet the woman of my dreams.

Once is enough. I get hurt. My ego was crashed and I felt patronized.

If you ask me if I'm still in love with the girl that knocks off my feet, the answer is I don't know.

Just like in the song:

"It's a little too late for you to come back
Say it's just a mistake,
Think I'd forgive you like that
If you thought I would wait for you
You thought wrong"

If I can't love her just the way I wanted to, it's not yet the end of the world for me. We're FRIENDS in the past and this can be our present and future.

A girl wants distance and distance doesn't mean you're giving up your friendship.

It Hurts.

It Frustrates.

It's also wrong for me to move on and just look for another girl just to satisfy what other people want me to do.

That's compensation and it's not logical thing to do.

Girls are not rehabilitation centers who got the super ability to boost your self-image.

Being single is not a weakness and who knows, another door will open for me tomorrow, next week, next year, next decade....

Thanks for the song and these priceless insights pop in my head and also, teaches me to understand women the smoother way!

To watch the video of Beyonce's "If I were A Boy," visit YouTube

This single is a soul ballad and Wikipedia calls it "...the kind of all-encompassing song that exudes the fragrance of a Grammy Award nod."

Survivor Analysis 8: The Doctor Is Out!

Lots of heartpounding events happened in episode eight but no matter how he thinks he acquired the power to control the whole game, the anesthesiologist Harvard graduate from Jacksonville Florida, Marcus Lehman, was eliminated from the game and become the first member of the jury.

This episode is unforgettable and it's C-O-O-O-O-L that one of my four I-Favorites sealed a spot in the jury.

Like in Season 5, there was no merge for the final ten castaways and a series of twist transpired again upon their arrival at a beach where a feast was waiting.

First, there's this mysterious box on the table and will be only open when they finish eating.



Surprisingly, Ken found a piece of parchment under the box saying a hidden immunity necklace is up-for-grabs once again and it's buried underneath a tree nearby.

"On the sand lies a large dead log
Cradled in the crook of a tree
Beneath the end of the tree’s lowest limb
You can dig for immunity"

Ken got the great advantage to keep this secret from others but Charlie saw him and immediately grab the piece of parchment and handed it to his Kota tribemates.

After reading, the group decided to search for the hidden idol and Randy found it as soon as he dug under the limb of a tree.

This was a lucky time for Randy but I can't understood the LOGIC behind laying the idol in the table and allowing somebody to grab it. This event tells me Randy was now very confident in his position with KOTA.

With the hidden immunity on the table, Matty and Ken were tempted to grab it but no one did it.

To Matty, "taking the idol is like biting the Eden apple, and you’d be exiled from paradise. “Nobody wants to be thrown out of Eden.” (Reality News Online)

Geez, giving up an immunity idol is probably the most goofiest thing you can do in the game of Survivor.

As a result of this event, Marcus and Randy threw the immunity necklace in the ocean.

Another unexpected twist occurred when they opened the box. Again, the KOTA and FANG were switched.

New Kota:
Bob, Marcus, Susie, Crystal, and Ken.

New New Fang:
Randy, Charlie, Corinne, Matty, and Sugar.

Upon their arrival in camp, new talks, new plans were discussed. Marcus felt very vulnerable because Corrine and Charlie were not on his side anymore. He knew he could trust Bob but Susie was 50-50 with his offers.

Susie made an impression in this episode. As I see it, she was in a good shape when she decided to side with Crystal and Ken to vote off Marcus. Marcus is without a doubt a threat and there's no way of breaking his alliance with Corrine and Charlie.

In Fang, Matty was the outcast. Right from the beginning, he got no ally. He had Sugar beside him but they were still outnumbered. Corrine, Charlie and Randy were tight in their alliance and once they lose the immunity challenge, Matty would be sent packing.


Good things really happened when you're least expecting it. Matty Whitmore was the big hero of this week's immunity challenge and guaranteed three more days in the island.

"Immunity Challenge: The castaways would hold two poles on the tops of their hands up against a board over their heads. Any movement in their hands would cause the poles to drop to the ground. The last person who does not drop their poles would win immunity for their tribe (WIKIPEDIA)."

"And Crystal is out in less time than it takes me to write that sentence. Now Sugar is out after about ten seconds. Probst says this is going to hurt – quickly. Susie is out. Randy and Corinne are out simultaneously.

Ken drops his pole and it’s two on two now. Marcus is shaking, Matty is struggling. Marcus can’t do it – he’s out. Probst points out that the oldest person in the game, Bob, is the only Kota member left. (RNO)"

Matty and Bob were two last standing castaways. Matty's right pole was nearly on the edge of the board and nearly falling. Fang would have lose it but out in the blue, Bob couldn't hold on and his poles went off.

Miracles really do happen but some big miracles can still happen if only he grabbed the hidden immunity idol during their feast.

If Matty got the necklace, he will not be a target in the succeeding episodes and can have the shot to sail through the final four with Ken.

Thanks to Crystal scheming!

And she didn't give in to Marcus. With respect to Marcus, his strategic decisions in the previous episodes were all good. He was like the invincible KOTA KING but in this episode, his vulnerability devoured him.

His plan to ally with Crystal for the sake she was his best friend's cousin and vote off Ken was completely senseless. Crystal and Ken were buddies and what power Marcus has to ruin that connection.

Maybe, if he sided with these two Fang members to get rid of Susie or Bob might save his skin for three more days. The only problem is, Ken and Crystal didn't like him either.

Marcus is a physical threat. He could devise a plan better than the others and the time has came to end his reign.


Truth is, the remaining nine doesn't need a doctor anymore! (LAUGHS)

To see more HD images during this week's episode, click here
Photo courtesy of:
http://www.realitynewsonline.com/
http://www.survivor.com/17/

Just A Great Photo!

Ana Ivanovic (the Roland Garros Champion) and Elena Dementieva (the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Gold Medalist) in one fantastic photo?

Nothing to ask for, right?

These two sporty icons square off a historic match on Dessert Island to celebrate the start of Doha WTA Sony Ericsson Championship.

Photo courtesy of:
http://tenniswta.blogspot.com/